Selected Essays, 1917-1932
Encyclopedia
Selected Essays, 1917-1932 is a collection of prose
and literary criticism
by T.S. Eliot. Eliot's work fundamentally changed literary thinking and Selected Essays provides both an overview and an in-depth examination of his theory. It was published in 1932 by his employers, Faber & Faber, costing 12/6 (2009: £).
In addition to his poetry, by 1932, Eliot was already accepted as one of English Literature's most important critics. In this position he was instrumental in the reviving interest in the long‐neglected Jacobean playwrights. A Dialogue on Dramatic Poetry was originally an addendum to Eliot's preface to Dryden's Essay of Dramatick Poesie
(1928 reprint). Further essays include The Metaphysical Poets (1921) in which Eliot argued that a "dissociation of sensibility
" set in... due to the influence of ... Milton
and Dryden
."T. S. Eliot" Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. by Elizabeth Knowles. Oxford University Press Inc. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Furthermore the modern poet ‘must be difficult’... ‘to force, to dislocate if necessary, language into his meaning’. Philip Massinger (1920) contains his aphorism
"Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal".
Eliot converted to the Church of England
and some of the essays expressed the form and discipline he felt necessary for fulfillment in his own life. For Lancelot Andrewes (1926), examines Andrewes
, a 17th-century Anglican bishop whose Eliot considers an important figure in history of the church, distinguished for the quality of his thoughts and prose. In The Humanism of Irving Babbitt (1927), Eliot posits that Babbitt
's faith in civilization must have a discipline derived from dogmatic religious authority.
's Fifty Best Books of the Century and sixth in Modern Library
's Best 20th century non-fiction.
II
III
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VI
VII
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
and literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
by T.S. Eliot. Eliot's work fundamentally changed literary thinking and Selected Essays provides both an overview and an in-depth examination of his theory. It was published in 1932 by his employers, Faber & Faber, costing 12/6 (2009: £).
In addition to his poetry, by 1932, Eliot was already accepted as one of English Literature's most important critics. In this position he was instrumental in the reviving interest in the long‐neglected Jacobean playwrights. A Dialogue on Dramatic Poetry was originally an addendum to Eliot's preface to Dryden's Essay of Dramatick Poesie
Essay of Dramatick Poesie
Essay of Dramatic Poesy by John Dryden was published in 1668. It was probably written during the plague year of 1666. Dryden takes up the subject that Philip Sidney had set forth in his Defence of Poesie and attempts to justify drama as a legitimate form of "poetry" comparable to the epic, as...
(1928 reprint). Further essays include The Metaphysical Poets (1921) in which Eliot argued that a "dissociation of sensibility
Dissociation of sensibility
Dissociation of sensibility is a literary term first used by T. S. Eliot in his essay “The Metaphysical Poets” It refers to the way in which intellectual thought was separated from the experience of feeling in seventeenth century poetry.-Origin of terminology:...
" set in... due to the influence of ... Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
and Dryden
Dryden
-People:* Dave Dryden, retired Canadian ice hockey goaltender* David Owen Dryden, renowned San Diego builder-architect*Erasmus Dryden * Helen Dryden, American artist and designer* Hugh L. Dryden, NASA Deputy Director...
."T. S. Eliot" Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. by Elizabeth Knowles. Oxford University Press Inc. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Furthermore the modern poet ‘must be difficult’... ‘to force, to dislocate if necessary, language into his meaning’. Philip Massinger (1920) contains his aphorism
Aphorism
An aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form.The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates...
"Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal".
Eliot converted to the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and some of the essays expressed the form and discipline he felt necessary for fulfillment in his own life. For Lancelot Andrewes (1926), examines Andrewes
Lancelot Andrewes
Lancelot Andrewes was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chichester, Ely and Winchester and oversaw the translation of the...
, a 17th-century Anglican bishop whose Eliot considers an important figure in history of the church, distinguished for the quality of his thoughts and prose. In The Humanism of Irving Babbitt (1927), Eliot posits that Babbitt
Irving Babbitt
Irving Babbitt was an American academic and literary critic, noted for his founding role in a movement that became known as the New Humanism, a significant influence on literary discussion and conservative thought in the period between 1910 to 1930...
's faith in civilization must have a discipline derived from dogmatic religious authority.
Reception
Selected Essays was placed fourth in the Intercollegiate Studies InstituteIntercollegiate Studies Institute
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Inc., or ', is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1953 as the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists...
's Fifty Best Books of the Century and sixth in Modern Library
Modern Library
The Modern Library is a publishing company. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, it was purchased in 1925 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer...
's Best 20th century non-fiction.
Contents
I- Tradition and the Individual Talent (1917)
- The Function of Criticism (1923)
II
- Rhetoric and Poetic Drama (1919)
- A Dialogue on Dramatic Poetry (1928)
- Euripedes and Professor Murray (1918)
- SenecaSeneca the YoungerLucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
in Elizabethan Translation (1927)
III
- The Elizabethan Dramatists (1924)
- Christopher MarloweChristopher MarloweChristopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
(1918) - Shakespeare and the StoicismStoicismStoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early . The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.Stoics were concerned...
of Seneca (1927) - Hamlet and his Problems (1919)
- Ben Johnson (1919)
- Thomas MiddletonThomas MiddletonThomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
(1927) - Thomas HeywoodThomas HeywoodThomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...
(1931) - Cyril TourneurCyril TourneurCyril Tourneur was an English dramatist who enjoyed his greatest success during the reign of King James I of England. His best-known work is The Revenger's Tragedy , a play which has alternatively been attributed to Thomas Middleton.-Life:Cyril Tourneur was possibly the son of Captain Richard...
(1931) - John FordJohn Ford (dramatist)John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
(1932) - Philip Massinger (1920)
IV
- Dante (1929)
V
- The Metaphysical Poets (1921)
- Andrew MarvellAndrew MarvellAndrew Marvell was an English metaphysical poet, Parliamentarian, and the son of a Church of England clergyman . As a metaphysical poet, he is associated with John Donne and George Herbert...
(1921) - John Dryden (1922)
- William BlakeWilliam BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
(1920) - Swinburne as Poet (1920)
VI
- Lancelot Andrewes (1926)
- John BramhallJohn BramhallJohn Bramhall was an Archbishop of Armagh, and an Anglican theologian and apologist. He was a noted controversialist who doggedly defended the English Church from both Puritan and Roman Catholic accusations, as well as the materialism of Thomas Hobbes.-Early life:Bramhall was born in Pontefract,...
(1927) - Thoughts after Lambeth (1931)
VII
- Baudelaire (1930)
- ArnoldMatthew ArnoldMatthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator...
and PaterWalter PaterWalter Horatio Pater was an English essayist, critic of art and literature, and writer of fiction.-Early life:...
(1930) - Francis Herbert Bradley (1926)
- Marie LloydMarie LloydMatilda Alice Victoria Wood was an English music hall singer, best known as Marie Lloyd. Her ability to add lewdness to the most innocent of lyrics led to frequent clashes with the guardians of morality...
(1923) - Wilkie CollinsWilkie CollinsWilliam Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces...
and Dickens (1927) - The Humanism of Irving Babbitt (1927)
- Second Thoughts on Humanism (1929)
- Charles WhibleyCharles WhibleyCharles Whibley was an English literary journalist and author. Whibley’s style was described by Matthew as “often acerbic high-tory commentary”.-Life:...
(1931)